19 May 2023 , 08:33
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Sir Richard Branson has seen his wealth shrink by £1.79billion since last year, according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2023.
It marks a huge drop of 40% in a year after Sir Richard said he feared he was going to lose his empire during the pandemic.
Sir Richard, founder of Virgin Group, and his family are now worth about £2.41billion, down from £4.2billion from the previous year.
It means he now places 77th on the list after ranking 44th richest in 2022.
In an interview with the BBC earlier this month, the British entrepreneur said Covid had "cost us a big percentage of our net worth" but gave a lower figure of around £1.5 billion.
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"There was a time where it really looked like we were going to lose everything", he said.
Virgin Group, which includes airline Virgin Atlantic, gym group Virgin Active and bank Virgin Money, suffered a hit when Covid struck in early 2020.
It came after a rocket failed to complete the first satellite launch from UK soil in January.
Last month saw its satellite launch company, Virgin Orbit, file for bankruptcy protection after the majority of its workforce were laid off.
Virgin Orbit this week received a $17million bid for its modified 747 carrier jet and other aircraft assets.
Sir Richard - who resides on a private island in the Caribbean - faced criticism when he asked for a commercial loan from the Government at the height of the pandemic.
But the businessman insisted he did not have billions in "cash in a bank account ready to withdraw" to save the business and tens of thousands of staff.
Virgin Atlantic eventually secured a £1.2billion bailout involving only private funds, including £200 million from the wider Virgin Group.
The Sunday Times Rich List 2023 revealed the number of billionaires on the list fell by six - meaning there are now 171 billionaires in the UK.
But combined, their wealth grew by an eye-watering £30.73billion - against a backdrop of the cost of living crisis.
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Gopi Hinduja and his family are the richest people in the UK with a wealth of £35billion as they topped the Sunday Times Rich List for the second year in a row.
Their wealth also marks the largest fortune ever recorded in 35 editions of the Sunday Times Rich List - but it comes just days after Srichand, the eldest of the four Hinduja brothers, died aged 87.